Reid is reading "The Watsons go to Birmingham" in school. We co-read chapter ten and Reid answered comprehension, practicing referring to the text. I helped him complete his math homework, adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators. To conclude, we played 5 minutes of ping pong as a reward for a job well done!

First, I helped Reid complete an iXL assignment on his iPad. The topic was reading comprehension; Reid read approximately 10 short passages on varied topics followed by comprehension questions (specifically, identifying the main idea). Next, we worked on a first draft of an essay, "The Benefits of a Catholic School Education." The assignment is largely copying an existing essay into his notebook. I helped Reid edit spelling, grammar, and stylistic errors. He worked diligently for the entire hour.

I helped Reid write and edit an essay for school, "The Benefits of a Catholic School Education." Reid worked diligently for the entire hour. I helped him to brainstorm examples from his experience at school to augment his work. He completed all but the last two paragraphs.

Alexandra and I read two dinosaur books and discussed what the dinosaurs are doing, what objects are in the pictures, and if the characters in the pictures look happy or mad.

Reid arrived with some classwork. After Reid summarized what he had read previously, we co-read two chapters from an abridged version of Oliver Twist and answered the multiple-choice comprehension questions. We discussed the literary techniques of foreshadowing and flash backs, and why an author might choose to use them. We concluded with basketball outside as a reward.

I began the session by asking Cade to identify sentences versus fragments (a sentence has a subject and verb and is a complete thought; a fragment does not make a complete thought.) If a complete sentence, Cade edited it for capitalization, appearance, punctuation, and spelling (CAPS). If a fragment, Cade added to it to make a complete sentence. Next, we co-read a passage from his textbook, "Family Working Together." I modeled taking notes, encouraging Cade to note only the most essential facts (not recount every detail). Writing a paragraph summarizing the article was too challenging for Cade, so he wrote a paragraph about his family instead. We discussed the structure of a paragraph (topic sentence, detail sentences that support the topic sentence, and concluding sentence). I noticed that Cade frequently capitalizes words within a sentence. These are often b/d words, and he capitalizes them because he confuses lowercase b/d. We paused to practice this skill, creating flashcards with a keyword for b and d and doing "b/d" punches on the whiteboard. To conclude, we played several rounds of hangman, focusing on words with two or three syllables to reinforce the concept of syllables (a word or a part of a word with one vowel sound).

Reid and I co-read the science fiction short story "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury. The story is rich with figurative language; we paused to identify and discuss the similes and metaphors in the text. Next, Reid answered five comprehension questions. He learned to refer to the text to find the answers, write in complete sentences and properly quote and cite text in his answers. As a reward for good work, we went outside and played basketball for the last five minutes.

Cade and I co-read a chapter from his McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders textbook, "Wild Weather." We paused to summarize, predict, and ask questions. When Cade encountered a word that he could not read, I encouraged him to use the syllable division strategies that he knows to decode the word. After reading, I helped Cade to write a paragraph to summarize the chapter. He edited the sentences using the acronym CAPS (capitalize, appearance, punctuation, spelling). I notice that Cade struggles with summarizing; we will continue to practice this skill.

Reid and I finished reading the passage about the hockey player, Dustin Brown. We brainstormed the writing prompt, "I'm not impressed with Dustin Brown" using a visual mapping technique (a strategy that works well for non-linear thinkers). Reid then wrote a paragraph arguing his opinion. I encouraged him to write more complex sentences using an appositive phrase and a semi-colon to connect two short sentences. We editing the paragraph for correct capitalization, handwriting, punctuation and spelling. Great job, Reid!

Reid and I co-read a passage about the hockey player, Dustin Brown, from the collection "Guys Read the Sports Page." I helped Reid practice reading comprehension strategies such as pausing to summarize, ask questions, and make predictions. We concluded with a game of Crazy Moose to review the five syllable types.